jeudi 31 mai 2012
«Louis'» Dentist, Dr. Turbodrill....
mercredi 30 mai 2012
Mercredi sans mots
See all the other participants in Wordless Wednesday
mardi 29 mai 2012
Memorial Day, Continued
Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Commanded U.S. forces in the Pacific Theater.
Admiral Raymond Spruance. Cool and steady, Spruance distinguished himself at the Battle of Midway.
Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. Born in Oregon, but grew up in Stockton, California. Hot headed, he was known as "Terrible Turner", but nonetheless was an able commander and strategist. Turner drew up the plans for the amphibious assault on Japan, but the plans were not executed because the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war.
• • •
The flags of the fifty states.
• • •
Brothers Archie and Warren Haviland, died 3 months apart, European Theater, WWII
See more Ruby Tuesday entries HERE.
lundi 28 mai 2012
Portes de lundi
UPDATE: Linky isn't working correctly.
Please post your Doorway in the Comments.
Thank you!
dimanche 27 mai 2012
Sunday Bridges: The Golden Gate at 75
On the 50th Anniversary of the Bridge, some 300,000 people walked across. The weight of this mass of people caused the center of the bridge to dip some 7 feet - 2.13 meters, and the suspension cables pulled the bridge towers in. There was no danger of the bridge collapsing as it was designed to flex like this. Nonetheless, for the 75th Anniversary festivities, the walk will not be repeated.
samedi 26 mai 2012
Le psaume de dimanche
Sung by Greek Orthodox monks. 6:30
• • •
1 Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;
they shoot suddenly, without fear.
5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, “Who will see it?”
6 They plot injustice and say,
“We have devised a perfect plan!”
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 All people will fear;
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.
10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will glory in him!
Sunday Psalm is hosted by Daily Athens and Katney's Kaboodle
Memorial Day Reflections on a Battleship
USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 29th state. Construction was started on 27 June, 1940. She was launched on 27 August, 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943 with Captain John L. McCrea in command. Upon commissioning, she was sent to the Atlantic Fleet, but was later moved to the Pacific Fleet. She was the only battleship in her class to serve both in the Atlantic and the Pacific in World War II.
Iowa carried President Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, and World War II military brass to Casablanca, French Morocco, on the first leg of the journey to the Tehran Conference in 1943.
Iowa class battleships' main batteries consist of nine 16" (406.4mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 guns, which could fire 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) armor-piercing shells some 20 nautical miles (23 mi; 37 km). Their secondary batteries consisted of 20 - 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns in twin turrets, which could fire at targets up to 12 nautical miles (14 mi; 22 km) away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of Allied aircraft carriers; to this end, the Iowa-class battleships were fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns to defend Allied carriers from enemy airstrikes.
The Iowa-class ships displace 45,000 tons, are 887' in overall length and have a maximum beam of 108' 2", which allows four forward turrets of the 5" gun batteries to fire forward at the same time as the two forward 16" gun batteries fire forward. The steam turbines of the power plants produce 212,000 horsepower, making the class capable of a 33 knot (41.25 m.p.h./66.4 k.p.h.) maximum speed.
The ships of the Iowa-class consist of:
Iowa (BB-61), built at the New York Navy Yard. Keel laid in June 1940; launched in August 1942; commissioned in February 1943.
New Jersey (BB-62), built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in September 1940; launched in December 1942; commissioned in May 1943. New Jersey served as the flagship of Admiral William Halsey.
Missouri (BB-63), built at the New York Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1941; launched in January 1944; commissioned in June 1944. It was on the decks of Missouri that Japan surrendered to the U.S., closing World War II. Missouri is now a museum at Pearl Harbor.
Wisconsin (BB-64), built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1941; launched in December 1943; commissioned in April 1944.
Illinois (BB-65). Under construction at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1945. Cancelled in August 1945 when 22% complete. Scrapped on the shipway in 1958.
Kentucky (BB-66). Under construction at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia. Keel originally laid in March 1942; construction suspended in June 1942, resumed in December 1944 and suspended again in February 1947. Hull launched in January 1950 to clear the building dock. Sold for scrapping in 1958.
During the festivities marking the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend, Iowa will sail for Los Angeles where she will become part of The Pacific Battleship Center, a happy ending for this fine ship which languished for years in the Ghost Fleet of ships in Suisun Bay to be scrapped.
«Louis» salutes everyone who has served in our militaries and in the Coast Guard not only this Memorial Day Weekend, but every day.
• • •
See all the other contributors to James' Weekend Reflections
vendredi 25 mai 2012
Le vendredi «Sky Watch»
See the Sky Watch Friday entries from around the globe!
jeudi 24 mai 2012
The Sea Princess calls on San Francisco
mercredi 23 mai 2012
Mercredi sans mots
See all the other participants in Wordless Wednesday
mardi 22 mai 2012
Mardi Rouge
(a.k.a. Red Car Day at Chez la Vache!)
Just before the arrival of the dynamic James Nance as president of Packard, the company had determined it needed to modernize its staid image. The show cars, beginning with the Speedster Special, were part of that effort. It was an effort Nance completely endorsed. Putting the Caribbean into production fit fully into those efforts. In addition, General Motors launched a trio of limited production "halo" cars in 1953: the Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Skylark, and Oldsmobile Fiesta. The Caribbean was Nance's response to GM. None of these "halo" cars - neither GM's nor Packard's - were ever intended for volume production, but were intended to draw customers into dealer show rooms where, it was hoped, customers would buy one of the companies other models.
Packard stylist Richard Teague, who had arrived at Packard just ahead of Nance, designed the Caribbean. He used the scooped hood of the Speedster Special, also used by Arbib on the Pan American. Many of the styling cues of the Pan American were used by Teague on the '53 Caribbean. Thus the two cars were evolutionary in design. The 1954 Packard Caribbean was less derivative of others' styling and more wholly the work of Teague. The fabulous '55 and '56 Caribbeans were entirely the work of Teague and his team.
Nance commissioned 750 Caribbeans for the 1953 production run. Regular 1953 Packard convertibles were taken to Mitchell-Bentley in Ionia, Michigan, where they were finished as Caribbeans. The Caribbean models are highly prized as collectors cars. Six figure selling prices today for 1953 Caribbeans are not uncommon.
See more Ruby Tuesday entries HERE.
lundi 21 mai 2012
Portes de Lundi
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